Hands up who’s guilty of holding onto that dress with the broken zip, the jeans you plan on fitting into by summer or the top that never quite sat right? If your wardrobe is a bottomless pit of items that no longer serve you, you’re not alone. But let’s face it, letting go of the clothes that hold memories (or just take up space) can be a tricky task. So much so that it’s easy to put off a wardrobe clear-out for years, maybe even decades. But some people are taking action. Fashion PR manager, Jodie Gwilliams, decided to have a mass wardrobe cleanse to free herself of all the clothes that no longer work for her - and can honestly say that it's changed the way she gets ready in the morning.
For Jodie, it was nostalgia, as well as the classic 'maybe that will come back into style' mentality, that meant she was holding onto clothes that no longer fit - even though it was beginning to affect her confidence. 'I’ve gradually put on some weight over the past couple of years and I was finding lots of bits were either no longer fitting me at all, or not fitting me in a way that flattered and made me feel good about myself,' she says. The other deciding factor was that a lot of her clothes didn't reflect her current style. 'I’d bought into lots of ‘micro-trends’ that were super short-lived or specific to a particular moment e.g. ruffle collars.' The final straw? 'I have an open wardrobe in my bedroom (perhaps a blessing in disguise!) and seeing everything I couldn’t or didn’t want to wear each and every day was starting to grate on me – I couldn’t just shut the door on it, so I decided to take action and sort it all out.'
So how do you go about starting a wardrobe cleanse after years of accumulation? Jodie started by trying everything on, which almost took a whole day. 'I really studied myself in each one. Not just how I looked, but how I felt. I asked myself if it felt ‘me’ – does this represent who I am and my current style? Do I feel cool/sexy/comfortable/smart? Does this flatter and fit my body? If the answer was no, it was out. Some decisions were simpler – if I couldn’t get jeans up over my knees or shirts were gaping over my boobs – they were out.' Jodie realised that holding on to clothes that didn't fit her, in the hope that they would one day fit again, was having a negative effect on her body image. '[It] stops you from loving yourself as you are now, which is one of my main goals for the year. Slowly the ‘no' pile was growing and outweighing the ‘yes' pile, but it felt good,' she says.
Once you're left with the piles of clothes you no longer want/need, the next step is to figure out what you're going to do with them. Jodie offered her housemate first dibs and then took a lot to local charity shops. 'I’ve spread the love across a couple (Sense and British Heart Foundation). The rest I will sell; I’ve recently discovered the joys of Vinted, which I love, so I will pop some of the more expensive and newer pieces on there, but I’m also a huge fan of local Facebook sell and swap pages (mainly because people collect from your door and it’s cash in hand, so you avoid postal costs and don’t need to leave your house - win), so I'll be popping the remainder on there.'
One of the main benefits is that the wardrobe detox has made getting dressed '100% easier', according to Jodie. 'I don’t think it has changed my style as such, but I do think it has really crystallised my own style preferences in my mind.' A much smaller, edited collection of clothes has also given her a sense of conviction when it comes to her personal style. 'Through the sorting process, I’ve unwittingly highlighted my favourite styles of clothing, go-to fits, as well as favourite colours and patterns. I’m sure this will be ever-evolving, as is fashion and style, but for now I feel really confident in my own personal style choices.'
If you want to take the plunge and get rid of the clothes that no longer work for you, Jodie has some top tips. 'Take note of the types of things you’re getting rid of as you go. I noticed I was putting lots of mom jeans, T-shirts, midi-dresses and chunky knitwear on my ‘no’ pile, and upon reflection, I actually don’t wear any of those things very much at all.' Realising what she was no longer wearing, Jodie also honed in on her 'uniform'. 'The things I wear most are; maxi-style dresses/skirts, bodysuits, high-rise skinny jeans, sweatshirts, long-sleeved ribbed tops, oversized poplin shirts and jumpsuits. I realised these pieces make up my own personal ‘uniform’ if you like.'
Finally, she got round to taking items that needed to be altered to her local dry cleaner. 'I took three pairs of trousers, a skirt and a jumper to my local dry cleaner and had them all altered/dry-cleaned for £46. It felt like an absolute bargain as it gave me a whole new wardrobe – and I got to support a lovely local business at the same time.'
Feeling inspired to tackle your own wardrobe? We already have a guide on all the best ways to sell your clothes online, so free yourself from clothes you no longer wear – just like Jodie – and make some extra cash at the same time. That's your weekend sorted, then!